Court Rules $17 Billion UK Advertising Lawsuit Against Google Can Go Ahead (reuters.com) 18
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Google parent Alphabet must face a lawsuit worth up to $17.4 billion for allegedly abusing its dominance in the online advertising market, London's Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) ruled on Wednesday. The lawsuit, which seeks damages on behalf of publishers of websites and apps based in the United Kingdom, is the latest case to focus on the search giant's business practices. Ad Tech Collective Action is bringing the claim on behalf of publishers who say they have suffered losses due to Google's allegedly anti-competitive behavior.
Google last month urged the CAT to block the case, which it argued was incoherent. The company "strongly rejects the underlying allegations", its lawyers said in court documents. The CAT said in a written ruling that it would certify the case to proceed towards a trial, which is unlikely to take place before the end of 2025. The tribunal also emphasized the test for certifying a case under the UK's collective proceedings regime -- which is roughly equivalent to the United States' class action regime -- is relatively low. "Google works constructively with publishers across the UK and Europe," Google legal director Oliver Bethell said in a statement. Bethell added: "This lawsuit is speculative and opportunistic. We'll oppose it vigorously and on the facts."
Google last month urged the CAT to block the case, which it argued was incoherent. The company "strongly rejects the underlying allegations", its lawyers said in court documents. The CAT said in a written ruling that it would certify the case to proceed towards a trial, which is unlikely to take place before the end of 2025. The tribunal also emphasized the test for certifying a case under the UK's collective proceedings regime -- which is roughly equivalent to the United States' class action regime -- is relatively low. "Google works constructively with publishers across the UK and Europe," Google legal director Oliver Bethell said in a statement. Bethell added: "This lawsuit is speculative and opportunistic. We'll oppose it vigorously and on the facts."
Everyone indulges in this sort of court case (Score:2)
Even - shock horror - in the USA. So no, you're indulging in special pleading on behalf of an entity whose overall record looks ever more negative day by day.
Re: (Score:3)
ah yes, we're seeing what fruit less regulation is letting you reap in the big US of A. Where a super small minority holds all the riches, and the people are just seen as cattle. Awesome stuff
Re: (Score:2)
Restricting this value creation keeps wealth distribution more equitable by preventing more wealth creation. The people who get this additional wealth don't just hold onto it; they do buy additional goods and services with this money.
Re: (Score:1)
Advertising spend is the important metric here, since that's where 99% of Google's revenues come from. Total advertising spend is largely a fixed pie. If my business spends a certain pecentage of its revenues on its advertising budget, and Google go out of business, we'd switch our spend to other channels.
In the case of Europe, a large percentage of advertising budgets there are going directly to US tech companies. Wealth is being created, but not in their own countries. Huge amounts of advertising money ar
Re: (Score:2)
The people who get this additional wealth don't just hold onto it; they do buy additional goods and services with this money.
The only thing that trickles down is piss.
Re: (Score:2, Informative)
Well, roughly 30% of Google's annual $278B revenues come from Europe. If Google find it unprofitable to comply with the regulations there, they can terminate their services there and drop $83B.
Decent alternatives exist for all their major products. A lot of their market dominance, like Microsoft's, is down to inertia. Google ceasing European operations would trigger a flurry of new compliant products. With all that money up for grabs US investors would be pouring money into Google alternatives.
Re: (Score:3)
More like the EU doesn't allow companies to blatantly skirt laws and isn't afraid to actually enforce them.
'This lawsuit is speculative and opportunistic.' (Score:2)
It's called lawfare. It keeps lawyers in their very expensive mansions...
Re: (Score:2)
What about if Texas does it? https://www.texasattorneygener... [texasattorneygeneral.gov]
Re: (Score:2)